Prophysaon, common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
These slugs can self-amputate (autotomy) a portion of their tail.[2] This autotomy has been observed in the species Prophysaon andersoni.[3]
[edit] Distribution
This genus of slugs occurs in North America, including California, and Oregon.
[edit] Species
Species in the genus Prophysaon include 10 species (9 according to Turgeon et al. 1998[4][5] and one new[2]):
- Prophysaon andersoni (J. G. Cooper, 1872) - Reticulate Taildropper, Anderson's Taildropper Slug
- Prophysaon boreale Pilsbry, 1948 - Northern Taildropper
- Prophysaon coeruleum Cockerell, 1890 - Blue-Gray Taildropper
- Prophysaon dubium Cockerell, 1890 - Papillose Taildropper
- Prophysaon fasciatum Cockerell in W. G. Binney - Banded Taildropper
- Prophysaon foliolatum (Gould, 1851) - Yellow-bordered Taildropper
- Prophysaon humile Cockerell, 1890 - Smoky Taildropper
- Prophysaon obscurum (Cockerell, 1890) - Mottled Taildropper
- Prophysaon vanattae Pilsbry, 1948 - Scarlet-backed Taildropper
- Prophysaon vanattae var. pardalis
- Prophysaon undescribed species from Siskiyou County, California from year 2006.[2][6]
[edit] References
- ^ Bland & Binney W. G. 1873. Ann. Lyceum nat. Hist. N. York, 10, 293, volume 3, page 921.
- ^ a b c Rory J. Mc Donnel, Timothy D. Paine & Michael J. Gormally. 2009. Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California. 21 pp., ISBN 978-1-60107-564-2. page 9
- ^ Hand, C., and W.M. Ingram. 1950. Natural history observations on Prophysaon andersoni (J.G. Cooper) with special reference to amputation. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 49: 15-28.
- ^ Thomas E. Burke. MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TERRESTRIAL MOLLUSK SPECIES Prophysaon coeruleum, Blue-Gray Taildropper & Prophysaon dubium, Papillose Taildropper http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/MR/TM4Species/2000-015_3.pdf
- ^ ITIS accessed 17 January 2009.
- ^ Roth B. & Sadeghian P. S. 2006. Checklist of the Land Snails and Slugs of California. Contributions in Science 3. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, California. 82 pp.
[edit] External links
